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His office received 182 inquiries from families seeking temporary housing in the second half of 2018. The most recent figures from the Ministry of Social Development shows there were 235 people on the social housing waiting list in Northland.

According to information that Whangarei MP Shane Reti has given residents, the Crown acquired the Puriri Park Rd land, currently zoned residential, for education purposes in the 1960s and placed it under the Ministry of Education's name.

The ministry has previously offered to sell the land to the district council but it declined because of limited funds and the fact there were other parts of the district where spending on a new park would be justified.

According to the council, the suburb of Maunu has 183ha of green space including Barge Showgrounds, Whangarei Museum and the 22,000sq m at Puriri Park.

All up, that's more than almost any other suburb in the district.

Public opinion on HNZ's plan is divided, with most residents close to the proposed development against plans for state houses in their backyard, while others believe it should be supported, given a shortage of housing in the district.

HNZ general manager asset development Patrick Dougherty said it was too early to say what the proposed development would look like or when it would get underway.

More details would be made public at the appropriate time, he said.

"We will engage with the local community once contracts have been signed and we can share any plans for the site," he said.